Maya Sacred Temple Ceremonies Contain Significant Similarities to other Temple Experiences around the World​

I am sharing a short video at the end of this article of the Maya Sacred Temple Ceremonies, which are deeply rooted in the spiritual and cultural traditions of the Maya people. These ceremonies, which Garth and I attended in 2010, were led by Tat Rigoberto Itzep Chanchovac, a respected Maya leader. He invited a dozen scholars to witness the ceremonies that took place at 4 different ancient sites in Guatemala and Izapa, Mexico. These traditional Maya people, recognizing the changing times, hired a producer to video the ceremonies for their descendants who are leaving the Maya villages and moving to large cities. One entire ceremony took 3 hours, but you will view only 9 minutes of special parts of it.

We knew nothing about the Maya Ceremonies until the first one began. As we watched each part of their Ceremonies, we were amazed at how similar it is to other temple ceremonies around the world, which are also rich in symbolism and spiritual significance. We asked if we could take pictures of the Ceremonies, and the Mayan Leader Tat Rigoberto Itzep Chanchovac, said “Yes”. 

From our photos & videos, we produced a short video. The Mayans began their Ceremony by drawing a circle on the ground, representing the Creation of the World. Then they added “light”, “water”, “earth”, “fish & insects, & parts of plants and animals”. The last item to be created was a “Man & Woman” which they did by counting to 260-the human gestation time before the birth of a human.  At the end of the count, a human man was symbolically created. During the Ceremony the Maya “Elders” blessed each person from head to toe + front & back. They cast out the Evil Spirit and proceeded with their Ceremony. 

The Maya men wore white slacks & shirts, with a headdress, shoulder robe, & apron with a sash. The women wore traditional Maya skirts and blouses. They followed an ancient “Tabernacle of Moses” tradition, a practice that symbolizes the communication between humans and the divine, of burning incense so the smoke would carry our prayers to heaven.

Here is the link to watch the 9-minute video with segments of the 3-hour-long Maya Ceremonies.